Truth Will Always Out
by Mummy0f5
Summary: Sequel to Fact Check. Having listened to Ladybug, Alya investigates Lila's stories and gets a huge shock. Meanwhile Chat Noir and Ladybug finally sit down to talk. Chat's in for a surprise of his own.
1. Chapter One: Let's Talk

"Don't you think you were a little harsh with Alya, LB?" Chat Noir asked as they landed on a roof top a few buildings away.

He looked at Ladybug with concern. She had been looking more and more tired and stressed lately. He hadn't noticed until the last few akuma attacks than Ladybug hadn't been her usual upbeat self. In fact he was trying to remember when their last real conversation was. He had a sneaking suspicion it had been over a month. Possibly not since the Queen Wasp attack where they'd lost all of their back up team.

Ladybug looked back at him, quietly, thinking. "Hey Chat, don't take this the wrong way... but... you do know we aren't immune to being akumatised, right?"

Chat's eyes widened with her question. "Um... I've never really thought about it. But it makes sense considering everything with Chloe and Heroes Day etc. Why do you ask?"

"So, you've never felt so emotionally overwhelmed that Hawkmoth has tried to akumatise you then." Ladybug stated. "At least, not in any time line that you would be able to remember."

"What?! What do you mean a time line that I wouldn't remember?" Chat whispered shocked.

"Beep." Both miraculous' signaled their countdown.

"Look, do you have to be anywhere straight away?" Ladybug asked.

"No."

"Then, let's feed our kwamis and meet at our usual roof top. We need to talk."

As soon as Chat nodded, Ladybug zipped away. Dropping into an empty alleyway, she released Tikki from her miraculous and held up a chocolate chip cookie from the purse on her hip.

"What are you going to tell him?" Tikki asked after a few bites.

"I'm not sure. I need to tell him about the akumas I've had to resist as well as the whole Chat Blanc thing. It's not fair to hold that information back from him. You know how much he hates secrets." Marinette slumped against the wall behind her.

"Will you discuss your identities? You know it's time, right? It's not really fair that you know who he is when he doesn't."

Marinette looked down at the ground. It had only taken minutes to make the connection between Chat Blanc knowing her identity and her present to Adrian being connected. And only a few hours to figure out why that connection was important. Despite what she told Bunnix, the only reason that particular connection could be an issue was if Adrian was Chat Noir. Tikki had confirmed it when Marinette had asked her especially since Marinette being the guardian meant she had the right to know.

The knowledge had been both a relief and heartbreaking for Marinette. A relief in that knowing Adrian was Chat made it easier for her to talk to him without stuttering or mixing up her words. She had begun to talk to him normally now that she no longer idolised him and held up as the image of perfection.

However, it was heartbreaking to know how much time she had wasted for them by denying Chat a romantic relationship. Except, Master Fu would have taken away their miraculous if they had revealed their identities to each other while he was still the guardian. Knowing that she had already stepped aside for Kagami before she found out Chat's identity, also made her heart ache. The last thing she wanted to do was interfere in her and Adrian's relationship. Both of them were her friends and she valued them equally for that status since she didn't particularly have many of them these days.

The other concerns that Marinette had was that if a romantic relationship between her and Adrian could get him akumatised, then Hawkmoth had to be someone close to them. Someone they knew. Someone one or both loved. Someone like family.

She also considered that Lila may actually know who he was. The number of times she had been akumatised and sometimes, Marinette got the feeling that the akuma were headed to someone else before Lila was akumatised in their stead. She couldn't prove it, but she suspected that Lila was deliberately getting akumatised.

There was also the thought that the number of akumas after Marinette lately meant that Hawkmoth was possibly targeting her directly. And if Lila was working with Hawkmoth like Marinette suspected, this made Lila's targeting of Marinette at school even more nefarious than simple bullying.

Once more, Marinette considered Adrian's father, Gabriel Agreste. Yes, he had been akumatised himself in the past, but knowing what she knew now, that no longer seemed like such a deterrent. Especially if he did it to cover his tracks.

"I don't know, Tikki. Especially with all we discussed about the possibility of his father being Hawkmoth. I guess we'll have to play it by ear as we talk."

"Very well. I've finished eating. Are you ready to go?"

"No, but that's no excuse to avoid him. We need this talk. Tikki, spots on!"

A pink light flashed as Marinette became Ladybug and then her yoyo zipped her back out of the alleyway. Five minutes later, she found Chat Noir already seated waiting on their usual roof top. Ironically he was singing the same song she had heard him singing during the Chat Blanc attack. It must be a favourite.

"Thanks for waiting Chat." Ladybug said quietly as she sat down gracefully next to him.

"Always LB. You got me quite curious, I have to admit." Chat watched her stare out at the picturesque scenery in front of them. Her expression was sad and and seemed somewhat painful. He didn't understand why.

Ladybug sighed. "This is hard to talk about. There is a lot going on in my civilian life on top of my superhero one. A lot of it has to do with you as well."

Chat was stunned. "With me, Ladybug? I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"

"No Chat, you didn't do anything wrong. But you probably aren't going to be happy with me either. I know who you are. I worked it out after you got akumatised in a deleted timeline." Ladybug looked down, afraid to see the expression on Chat's face.

"I don't understand. When did I get akumatised?" Chat was confused. He didn't really care that Ladybug knew his identity. He'd always wanted her to know although timing was a little off considering his tentative relationship with Kagami. Although contrary to what all their friends thought, they weren't actually exclusively dating yet. They were exploring a relationship, yes, to see if he could get past his love for Ladybug. But it wasn't set in stone and they'd made no progress with it so far.

Ladybug held up a hand. "Let me explain what I know and what I can only assume based on that knowledge first."

Chat could only nod.

She sighed. "Remember when I dropped off that present to civilian you?"

"Yeah, it confused me a little."

"Originally, I had put my civilian name on it. It was supposed to be one of my attempts at letting civilian you know about my crush on you."

"Wait...what? Hold on. Are you telling me, that all this time... the boy you refused me for... was me?!"

"Um... Yeah. I was pretty upset when I worked that out, myself."

"So you had a celebrity crush on me?"

"No, Adrian. We know each other in our civilian life. We're friends. I've been in love with you since your first day at school."

Chat's jaw dropped. "What!"

"Look, we'll come back to that, OK. The last thing I want to do right now is interfere with your relationship with Kagami."

Chat slammed his jaw shut and nodded. His thoughts were whirling around incoherently and he had to force himself to pay attention to Ladybug's continued explanation.

"Anyway, you apparently worked out who I was by making the connection between my civilian name on the present and seeing Ladybug me leave your room. A couple of minutes after I left, Bunnix came through a portal and dragged me to the future. When I got there, everything was white. Paris had been destroyed and parts of it were flooded, the moon had been blasted and you were akumatised into Chat Blanc. We fought.

At one point you knocked me into one of the flooded parts where I found what I thought initially thought were statues of myself and Hawkmoth. It was only when I touched mine and it crumpled into dust and floated away that I realised it was actually that time lines me and Hawkmoth. Somehow, akumatising you, was the last thing he accomplished and you took us both out at the same time.

Eventually I purified the akuma in your bell. However you still called me by my civilian name after being released from the akuma.

I figured out then that part of what led to you being akumatised was that you knew I was Ladybug. In your own words... 'our love destroyed the world'.

So I got Bunnix to take me back to the point when I had written my name on the present and erased it with my lucky charm before releasing the miraculous cure.

It was later that day after that event that I made the connection that you were Chat Noir and that Hawkmoth is connected to us somehow in our civilian lives."

Chat was frozen in thought for a while. The idea that he and Ladybug knew each other in their civilian lives was stuck in his head. Especially that they were not only friends but in the same school. He thought over every girl in his class and suddenly stuck on the image of one. Marinette Dupain-Chang. Their everyday ladybug.

He thought back to every akuma at school where he had seen Marinette disappear from the scene and Ladybug appear a few minutes later. All the back up Miraculous holders that had been revealed during Queen Wasp could be connected to Marinette in some way. Especially when he considered that it was Ladybug who chose them. Come to think of it, Marinette had been looking as offbeat recently as Ladybug is now.

He thought over Marinette when she had been Multimouse. She was the only other person in the hallway when they had seen drawings of Plagg and Tikki on the TV. She had worn lots of miraculous then. Whose to say she wasn't also wearing the fox one? Chat decided to test it. He looked up at Ladybug so he could watch her expression.

"Marinette?"

Ladybug froze in shock.

"You are. You're Marinette."

"Ye... Yeah. I am. Guess it wasn't that hard to figure out once you started connecting the dots, huh." Marinette looked away embarrassed.

"Well, it is now that I'm really actually thinking about it. Although I really feel stupid for not making the connection before. I called you our everyday ladybug for goodness sakes!" Chat said as he slammed a hand against his forehead.

Ladybug giggled then sighed and stood up. "Look, we have more to discuss about this whole thing. I'm pretty sure I've worked out who Hawkmoth is. Though I don't know what to do with that information at the moment. Why don't we take this conversation indoors. I could do with a hot chocolate. I'm sure Plagg is dying for some cheese bread and to catch up with the other kwamis."

"Plagg eats cheese bread? I didn't think he ate anything other than old stinky smelly cheese."

Ladybug giggled again. "Well he must do if the cheese bread I place in my school bag disappearing every day for the last month has anything to say about it."

Chat slammed his head against his hand again. "Honestly Plagg! He only thinks with his stomach. Wait... You've been feeding my kwami at school?"

"Um... Yeah... Plagg and Tikki have taken to hiding out in my bag during class for snacks and conversation. Coming?"

"Lead the way Milady" Chat bowed with an arm out gesturing for her to lead. He looked every inch the gentleman he was in his civilian life.

She smiled sadly from nostalgia before zipping off towards her home. Chat following closely behind. It had been a long time since she'd heard Chat call her anything other than Ladybug or LB.

She released her transformation as she landed on her balcony. She waited for Chat to do the same before lifting up her roof top door and inviting him in. She felt a little dazed as she did so. It was one thing to know in theory that it was Adrian under mask. It was another thing entirely to watch Chat actually become Adrian. She waited for him to climb off her bed before dropping through the door herself and following him down.

"Take a seat. I'll pop down to make our drinks and grab some snacks." Marinette said as she headed downstairs to the bakery.

Adrian looked around her bedroom. It had been a while since he'd last been here as either Adrian or Chat. It had changed somewhat since he last saw it. It was still pink. Very pink. But where there used to be a wall full of his model pictures there was a wall full of designs instead. The board above her bed that had once been full of his photos were now fulled with photos of all their friends. Although, none of them had been taken recently.

Thinking about it, Adrian didn't remember the last time any of their friends had all hung out. Things had been tense in their classroom lately. Which he knew was likely to be Lila's doing. He hadn't realised things had gotten quite so bad. His classes had lately been interrupted often by either his modelling work or akumas. So he didn't get to see or hear a lot of what was going on in the classroom.

He had only just noticed a few days ago that Marinette was no longer sitting in the seat behind him. That thought made him feel guilty now. He had promised to support Marinette against Lila when he told her to take the high road. He regretted that advice now. He didn't realise at the time that Lila had already made Marinette a target.

Adrian's thoughts were interrupted by Marinette re-entering the bedroom, her hands full with a loaded tray. He took the tray from her, noting that aside from their mugs with hot chocolate laden with whipped cream and a plate full of cookies, croissants, cheese bread, and other baked goods, there was also a variety of fruits adnd vegetables and other assorted foods. He gave Marinette a questioning look and she smiled back at him.

"Thanks. Just put the tray on the small table by the chaise. I'm going to bring out the others."

"The others?"

Marinette walked over to a gramophone tucked into a hidden corner of her desk. It was partially blocked from view by other items on her desk. Adrian watched as she opened a compartment and entered a code. The code released the miraculous box, which was now egg shaped and red with black spots, from inside. Pulling it out, Marinette brought it over to the chaise and sat on the floor beside it. Adrian sat down on the chaise to watch.

He was stunned as she pulled out every miraculous inside and put them on. As she released each one a matching kwami appeared around them. Soon Plagg and Tikki flew over from wherever they had gone to talk to join them.

The kwamis babbled together excitedly, swooping down occasionally to pick up their choice of a snack as they talked. Marinette was the only Master they'd had who was strong enough to do so and did so on a regular basis. Though it still took a lot out of her when she did so and she couldn't do it for more than an hour at a time. They also loved that she always had their favourite snacks waiting for them when she did so.

"Wow!" Adrian was amazed. Marinette looked enchanting covered in each one of the miraculous surrounded by multiple kwamis. She handed him one of the mugs and the plate of baked goods that were left over from the kwamis.

"Eat. I'm sure whatever model diet your father has you on doesn't provide anywhere near enough calories to meet your superhero requirements." Marinette mentioned as she took a sip from her own mug.

Adrian laughed awkwardly. "You'd be right about that. Especially when you consider how much camembert Plagg eats and that my father thinks its me instead."

Marinette grimaced at that. "I thought so. You've been looking a little thin lately and both Kagami and Plagg were worried. I was tempted to send Tikki into your locker with a bag of goodies every day instead of just every other day. I might have to actually start doing that if your diet doesn't change."

"So that was so you? I couldn't understand how the food kept appearing in my locker. Though I was extremely grateful for it." Adrian smiled at her, unaware of the soft look on his face as he did so.

Marinette blushed when she saw it. She nodded back at him. Just because she had stepped aside for Kagami didn't mean she had stopped caring.

Adrian put his mug and plate on the table beside him before dropping from the chaise onto his knees on the ground and wrapping Marinette into a tight hug. His head was tucked into her shoulder. "Thank you so much, Marinette! You're amazing!"

Marinette had to place her own mug carefully on the ground beside her so she didn't spill it before she could wrap her own arms around him and return his hug. Adrian had always been touchy during their friendship and Chat had been even more so, especially when she was Ladybug. Marinette had figured long ago that both boys were touch deprived; and now that she knew they were one and the same, she understood that need for touch even more.

She began to rub his back soothingly as she realised he was trembling and her shirt had dampened from his silent tears. Apparently things were even worse at home than she'd realised.

"Adrian, if you ever need to escape for a while or need extra food, you are more than welcome to come here. Even if I'm not home, my parents would be more than happy to feed you or let you hang out."

"Thanks Marinette. I will probably be taking you up on that offer so much that you might regret offering it."

"Never, Adrian. You're one of my closest friends. My best friend. You will always be welcome here."

Very gently and lightly, so lightly he barely registered that she'd done so, Marinette kissed the top of his head. It was a few more minutes before his tears had stopped and his blush had died down enough that he could pull away, albeit reluctantly.

Once Adrian felt more composed, he picked up his mug and finished it. He then stuffed the food into his mouth as if afraid she would take it away. Marinette giggled at his actions, sipping her on mug much slower. She waited until he had cleaned the plate before bringing up the next topic.

"Um, so we need to talk about Lila and Hawkmoth." She finally said hesitantly.

"I get Hawkmoth. But why Lila?"

It was Tikki that answered Adrian's question. "We think they are working together. She's been targeting Marinette at school with what we think is the intention to get her akumatised. And whenever Marinette resists the akumas, Lila seems to get akumatised more often than not, in her stead."

"What?! Marinette, you've been fighting off akumas?"

"Um... yeah... I have been since the first day Lila came back to school after her supposed trip to Achu etc."

"Oh Marinette! I'm so sorry! I should have done more to help you!"

"It's OK, Adrian. There probably isn't much you could have done. We've been handling it. It's only recently that we even realised that I was probably being deliberately targeted by Hawkmoth and that Lila was possibly working with him. I've been mediating with Maman each morning to help even out my emotions before school and when things get really bad, Kaalki gets me out of Paris to calm down."

"How often? How often are you having to resist Akumas?" Adrian whispered.

"She has to fight one off most days. Sometimes more than one. All it takes is the slightest emotional imbalance for one to seek her. Hawkmoth seems to be pretty determined to akumatise Marinette." Tikki finally answered him when Marinette refused by tucking her face into her raised knees.

Adrian's face drained of all colour when he heard her. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed any of this.

"It's why I sit in the back of the classroom now. It's much easier for Tikki to purify a stray akuma without anyone noticing back there." Marinette mumbled against her knees where her face stayed hidden.

"I've had to destroy one or two myself, when I've been hanging out back there." Plagg added.

Marinette squealed in shock when Adrian suddenly lifted her off the ground and into his lap for a hug. He had no idea what to say to what he was hearing. It had scared him the one time he knew Marinette had almost been akumatised when Lila had accused her of stealing, cheating and pushing her down the stairs. The fact that it was the only akuma to succeed out of how many for the last half a year was a huge shock. Actually come to think of it, Hawk Moth seemed almost prepared for Marinette to be akumatised. Adrian remembered those red akumas from Hero Day. That just added to Marinette's theory of Lila working with him.

"Why is Hawkmoth targeting you so much?" He asked with his face against her shoulder.

"We think he either suspects Marinette of being Ladybug or he thinks she's key to winning somehow. Marinette is the only person to not have been successfully akumatised in your class other than yourself." Longg the dragon kwami spoke.

"Which leads us into Hawkmoth's suspected identity." Plagg added.

"Who is it?" Adrian asked looking up at the kwamis who were now all seated on the chaise. Marinette tried to move out of his lap only for Adrian to tighten his grip.

"We think it's your father." Marinette said softly.

"My father? My father is Hawkmoth?" Adrian said bewildered.

"Hear us out please. We have a reason for thinking so." Marinette pleaded. She continued when Adrian nodded for her to continue.

"I know we excluded him from the suspect list when he was akumatised as The Collector. But having talked to the kwamis since becoming the Guardian, I've learnt that it's possible to akumatise yourself. It's dangerous but it can be done. I'm not sure Master Fu even knew that.

He had that book with past superheros written in the guardian language and Plagg thinks he remembers seeing what might have been the peacock miraculous in your father's safe when you took the book. Although he didn't realise it at the time.

There has also been the fact that any akumas he's sent out never seek to target you, and if they do, that's when Plagg says you see your father acting fatherlike the most. Your bodyguard was the only real exception and thinking back I feel like he suspected you were Chat Noir and was testing you. Sorry, I know this is upsetting, especially since it's obvious that I've been talking to Plagg behind your back." Marinette touched Adrian's shoulder gently in apology and to offer comfort.

"Plagg also said that Nathalie has been quite sick looking lately and we thought that might be because she's been wearing the peacock miraculous as Mayura while it was still damaged.

Um... Other evidence relates to the whole Chat Blanc time line and guess work. Once I made the connection that you were Chat Noir, and your words as Chat Blanc about our love destroying the world, we had to think about how our love could possibly do that.

All I could think of... was situations like when Nino wanted to throw you a birthday party and your father said no. Then Nino was akumatised. The same thing happened to that magician on that game show when your father ridiculed him and he got akumatised. It got me thinking about how often someone he puts down or ridicules gets akumatised, such as your bodyguard.

Which got me thinking that if he could do that, and if he was targeting me then the perfect way for him to get to me or us was if we had been dating and he threatened us to break up somehow. Probably by pulling you out of school or something. He did that before over the guardian book. He only let you come back to school that time because I returned the book to him."

Marinette turned her head away to give Adrian privacy to process everything she said. His arms had only tightened as she talked. It was as if her body in his lap was grounding him somehow.

"So... you returned my father's book?" Adrian said quietly after a while.

"Um... Yes. I... um... saw Lila take it that day in the library. I ended up following her to the jewellery store where she bought that fake fox miraculous and then Tikki and I watched her throw the book into the bin behind the bench just before you met her in the park. Tikki fished it out while Lila was telling you her stories.

Tikki had recognised the book as being important since it was about the miraculous. We took the book to Master Fu who began decoding it. Then when you and I went to investigate your father only to find that he had gotten akumatised. And then he pulled you out of school so I went back to Master Fu who made a digital copy of the book so he could continue to decode it and I returned it back to your father pretending that I was the one who had taken it.

Between that and Lila's lies about being Ladybug's best friend and being a miraculous holder herself to get close to you... it was why I kind of lost my temper at her that day. I'm sorry. It wasn't one of my finer moments."

Marinette couldn't look at Adrian then so she looked down at the floor. She was embarrassed to have admitted to all that. He used a finger to lift her chin in his direction until she was looking at him. "Thank you for telling me. I never knew what happened that day or why you were as angry as you were. I'm relieved to know now."

Marinette blushed. "I'm not sure what to do about all of this though. Just the fact that Lila is probably working with Hawkmoth and who Hawkmoth actually might be. I don't know how to deal with it all."

"We should probably deal with Lila first. If we get rid of his allies, then we reduce his help base. Then we probably need to find new helpers of our own before we take him on." Adrian thought out loud. He was struggling a little to process the thought of his father being Hawkmoth. Though all of Marinette's evidence matched up.

"Then how do we do that? Lila has everyone twisted around her little finger now. She made good on her threat to take my friends away. The only thing she's failed on is make you her boyfriend."

Adrian stiffened. His voice almost growled as he spit out "What threat?"

"Lila cornered Marinette in the girls bathroom the same day that Lila came back from her 'trip'. The same day you told Marinette to take the higher road." Tikki explained. "That was the day Lila was akumatised as Cameleon. The akuma was meant for Marinette. Marinette fought it off in the bathroom then transformed to chase it, only somehow Lila got it instead."

"My god, Princess, I'm so sorry. I've been an idiot." Adrian dropped his head back into Marinette's shoulder.

She patted him soothingly on his back. "It's OK, Adrian. You didn't know. But... um... Not that I'm complaining or anything... but... you should probably let me go now. This isn't really fair to your relationship with Kagami. The last thing I want to do is hurt her by interfering in it."

Adrian sighed. He tightened his arms for one last hug before reluctantly letting Marinette go. She was right. Even if he knew that his and Kagami's relationship wasn't really going anywhere. Marinette didn't. It wasn't fair to pursue Marinette until he had talked to Kagami.

His phone beeped then. School was finished and his bodyguard was looking for him. "I need to go. I need to sort out some stuff at home and talk to Kagami. Is it alright if I phone you later? We need to make a game plan on dealing with Lila."

"That's fine. I've held out this long. I can manage a few more hours." Marinette gave him a sweet smile as she escorted him back up to her trap door.

Adrian called for his transformation and jumped through the trap door in her roof before looking down to study her. It had been a long time since he'd seen Marinette smile. Leaning down he kissed her forehead before taking off with his batten towards school.


	2. Chapter Two: Alya Investigates

It took Alya a long time after Ladybug and Chat Noir had left before she realised she was still standing there. She flushed with embarrassment when a phone call interrupted her thoughts. It was Nino.

"Hey Babe. Where are you? Akuma should be long over by now right? You're late for class."

"Um... Yeah. Long over. I got some footage of the battle and then ran after Ladybug and Chat Noir for an interview."

"Did you get one?"

"Um... Sort of. Not really the interview I was expecting though." Alya spoke quietly.

"What's wrong Babe?"

"I... um... asked Ladybug for an interview and Ladybug told me my blog wasn't reputable anymore. That she had issues with some of my sources."

"Babe, are you OK? What's wrong with your sources?"

"Not... really... I feel horrible. Ladybug flat out told me that Lila lied about being her best friend. And she also pointed out a few other issues in my interview with Lila that I never bothered fact checking...

Like the fact that Jagged Stone has never had a cat or released a song dedicated to Lila. Something which Ladybug pointed out that both Marinette and Chloe could have confirmed since both have regular contact with him...

Or that Rose was in contact with Prince Ali and could have been asked to confirm that Lila actually knew him. I have literally just realised that I've been posting Lila's stories as fact instead of checking for additional sources to back them..."

"Oh wow... Babe... So Lila has been lying to us this whole time?"

"Ye... Yeah. I think we owe Marinette a huge apology..."

"Oh... Yeah... I guess... we do..."

Both teenagers sounded depressed at the thought.

"What do we do now?" Nino asked Alya after a minute of awkward silence.

"I guess... I start... fact checking everything Lila has told me?" Alya felt like crying.

"Want some help?"

"Yes please. Meet you at the school library in half an hour?"

"I'll be right there, Babe. You're not alone. We'll do this together."

MLBMLBMLBMLB

It took Alya and Nino several hours but they noted down every story that Lila had told them on camera; and then they researched them on the Internet. They actually found an interview from Jagged Stone stating that he'd had Fang for nearly 15 years and that he'd never had any other pets. Ever.

They had also discovered that Prince Ali never did charity work except for those relating to children. A quiet phone call to Rose to ask her if Prince Ali had ever mentioned Lila resulted in a negative. A second phone call a few minutes later had Rose confirming, to her own great confusion, that Prince Ali had never even heard of Lila Rossi. Alya explained what had happened with Ladybug and what her and Nino had discovered so far.

Twenty minutes later, both Rose and Juleka met Alya and Nino in the school library. One by one, they found irrefutable proof that Lila had been lying. With each new lie discovered, and confirmed with the relevant classmate it concerned, more and more of their classmates joined them to research. Soon, the only classmates missing from the group in the library, apart from Lila, were Chloe, Adrian... and Marinette.

Chloe had confirmed for them over the phone that Jagged Stone never had a cat that she had seen. She had also confirmed in the negative, a few of the other lies the Lila had told regarding some of the other famous people who had stayed in her father's hotel. That phone conversation was tense, considering that Chloe was on the outs with everyone in the class after siding with Hawkmoth during her tantrum.

Adrian had confirmed in a phone call that Ladybug had confronted Lila on her first day at school in front of him in the park, regarding the lie in her interview on the Ladyblog about being her best friend. Describing how upset Ladybug had been at the time of the confrontation as well as Lila's akumatisation later as Volpina in his bedroom and her illusional attempt to kidnap him. He also pointed out that Volpina had been active on Hero's Day; adding that Hawkmoth only ever used one person for each type of akuma. To top everything off, he also told Alya about Lila threatening Marinette in the bathroom on the day she had been akumatised as Chameleon.

None of the class members approached Marinette that day. They felt too guilty about having succumbed to Lila's lies so easily and subsequently turning their backs on Marinette. They vowed as a group that they would apologise and make it up to Marinette the following day.

They spent the rest of the day planning on how to deal with Lila and her lies.

MLBMLBMLBMLB

As soon as Adrian had finished his fencing lessons and gotten changed, he pulled Kagami aside stating that they needed to talk.

Kagami looked at Adrian in concern as she followed him to the benches. While she knew that their attempt at dating wasn't really working, those words were never good.

"What's wrong Adrian?" Kagami finally asked after they had been sitting for a few minutes in silence.

"Um...I'm really sorry. Please know, it's not you. I'm really happy that you're my friend but I don't think we're working out as anything more than that. I tried. I really did. But it's not working and that's not fair to you. I don't want to keep hurting you with my hesitation." Adrian said looking down at his hands.

Kagami sighed. "I had a feeling this was coming. It's OK Adrian. I'm glad we tried even if it didn't work out. We certainly make better friends than we did in trying to make a romantic relationship. Are you going to finally pursue Marinette?"

Adrian blushed. "Um.. not exactly... right away. I've only just come to terms with how I feel about her... But probably... Yes... She has a lot going on right now and I've been neglecting her when I should have been helping her... There's a girl in our class actively bullying her..."

"Lila... Right? The girl who sent me that photo? The one you were forced to do a photo shoot with?"

"Yeah... That's her. I just found out that the day I convinced Marinette to not confront the girl about her lying, Lila had threatened her in the bathroom. I feel really bad about not supporting Marinette as much as I should have been. So... I kind of need to help her sort out that situation before trying to start anything more relationship wise with her..."

Kagami was shocked. Someone had threatened sweet Marinette? Love rivals over Adrian they may have been, but Marinette was also Kagami's first female friend. "Is there anything I can do to help? Marinette is my friend too."

"I'm not sure. Maybe support her when and as you can? She's been fighting off a lot of akumas lately, as amazing as that is."

"She's fighting them off?" Kagami whispered, shocked. "Is that even possible?"

"Yeah... Apparently... She's been doing it by calming her emotions. Meditation with her mother in the mornings and stuff. We think Hawkmoth is targeting her specifically since she's the only person other than myself in our class who hasn't been successfully akumatised. And akumas seem to show up anytime her emotions become even the slightest bit unbalanced."

"Adrian... That's... really scary... He's... actively targeting... her?"

"Yeah... Looks like... I don't even want to think about... what would happen... if he finally manages it."

"I don't either... She's so strong... to have managed to resist them for so long..."

They were silent for a while, processing that thought.

"So... are we... OK? About staying as friends rather than pursuing anything further?"

"Yes, Adrian. I wish you luck in your pursuit of Marinette. She's a special girl."

Adrian smiled. "Yeah I know... I just hope I'm not too late..."

"I don't think you are. She turned down Luka after all."

"She did?"

"Yeah... She wasn't quite ready to try getting over you completely by pursuing him. Even though she had stepped aside for me. She's the sweetest friend I could ever ask for."

"Thanks Kagami." Adrian gave her a hug as they stood up. Looking up, he could see his bodyguard waiting in the doorway for him. "I need to go. Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine. I was preparing for this anyway."

"Bye Kagami."

"Bye Adrian."

MLBMLBMLBMLB

By the time Adrian was sitting down for dinner at the table, by himself as usual, it had been a long day. He had been surprised to get the phone call from Alya, during piano practice, asking about Lila.

Once Alya had explained about her interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir earlier that day and what their classmates had discovered since then, Adrian took great pleasure in informing her about Ladybug's confrontation of Lila on her first day of school leading to her akumatisation at Volpina.

He informed Alya of Lila's threat to Marinette on her first day back after her 'trip'. Adrian also took great pleasure in pointing out that Volpina had been active on Hero Day. Meaning that she was likely in Paris then and not in Achu like she had told everyone.

Adrian was suddenly very glad that Marinette had been as harsh as she had been when talking to Alya as Ladybug. It seemed that her harshness had been the wake up call Alya had needed to start fact checking Lila's stories.

Leasurely finishing his meagre dinner, Adrian retired to his room after informing Nathalie that he was going to get an early night. Originally he had planned to phone Marinette. But now he felt the need to actually see her. Feeding Plagg his beloved camembert, Adrian called out for his transformation and snuck out his window. Less than 10 minutes later, found him landing on Marinette's balcony and knocking on her roof top door.

Marinette was only vaguely surprised that Adrian was on her balcony when she opened the door above her bed. Tikki peeked over her shoulder giggling as Adrian jumped through the door and released his transformation. Plagg grumbled at him before rushing over to Tikki. The pair taking off to the small bed that Marinette had for her, discreetly hidden on the shelf by her bed.

Marinette was already dressed in her pajamas and her hair was still damp from her shower. A towel meant for drying it, was still around her neck.

Adrian blushed slightly when he realised. "Sorry... I should have let you know I was coming..."

"It's OK Adrian, don't worry about it. I said you were welcome any time and I meant it." Marinette sat cross-legged on her bed in front of Adrian and picked up her towel to finish drying her hair. "So what exactly happened that got you so excited?"

Adrian bite his lip as he watched her. "Um... So I spoke to Kagami. We agreed together that we worked better as friends than as a dating couple... So there's that... And... Um... I got a phone call from Alya earlier today...

Apparently what you told her earlier as Ladybug has hit home and she's started fact checking every story Lila has told her. By the time she called me, almost the entire class were in the library helping her research... So... It looks like Lila might be taken care of without us needing to do a thing."

Marinette paused her towel and looked at Adrian then. "Really? All that I needed to do to get Alya to start using her brain again as a reporter was to tell her off as Ladybug? That kind of hurts. Ladybug is more trustworthy to her than me as her best friend."

Adrian's heart broke at the sad look on Marinette's face. Unable to resist any longer, he pulled Marinette into his lap. Taking the towel from her hands, he finished drying her hair for her. "I know it sucks that it turned out this way, but it's better late than never. As much as I wish it came about differently, it's happened now. All we can do is move on."

Marinette sighed. "I know, and I'll forgive them if they come to apologise. But it might take me a while to trust them again."

Adrian finished drying her hair. He combed through it gently with his fingers. It was soft and shiny and smelled faintly of vanilla. Without thinking about it, he began braiding her hair. He missed playing with his mother's hair and playing with Marinette's hair made him feel nostalgic. She handed him one of the hair ties that she had resting on her wrist when he had finished.

Lifting her slightly he moved so that he could lean against her pillow. He liked the fact that one of her pillows was a gigantic cat. He then turned her in his lap so she was sitting sideways facing him rather than with her back to him.

Marinette looked at him with an eyebrow raised in amusement at being manhandled in such a way. Although if she had been unhappy about it, she could have pulled away at any time in the process. "You know I am perfectly happy to sit on the bed, right?"

Adrian wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. "I prefer you right where you are. It's taken this long to finally find you and get you into my arms. There's no way in hell I'm going to waste any more time without you there if I don't have to."

Marinette could only giggle as she leaned against him. "Was Kagami OK?" Her voice was soft with concern over her friend.

"Yeah... She said she had kind of been expecting it. She wished me luck in my pursuit of you."

"Oh geez, I hope you didn't tell her you were doing that straight away!"

"No... I said we needed to deal with some other issues, like Lila, first before I would start an official pursuit. Although, fair warning, that's not to say I'm not going to unofficially pursue you."

"Yeah, I kind of already guessed that." Marinette commented looking down at his arms around her waist. They tightened around her as he pulled her closer against his chest, tucking her head into his shoulder.

They sat quietly that way until Marinette fell asleep. Adrian drifted off not much longer after her. Tikki and Plagg pulled a blanket over them to cover them. Tikki setting Marinette's alarm to wake them early enough for Adrian to get home before he'd be missed and Marinette to join her Maman for meditation. The kwami pair then settled back into Tikki's bed for the night.

The blaring phone alarm woke Adrian before it could wake Marinette. He turned it off before looking down at her. At some time during the night they had managed to turn over. Her arms were tucked against his chest. Her head on his shoulder. Their legs were tangled together. He couldn't remember a more peaceful night's sleep. Smiling down at her sleeping face, he kissed her forehead.

"Marinette. Mari. It's time to wake up." He whispered into her ear, placing gentle kisses along her ear lobe as he spoke. The kisses continued down her jawline until he reached the corner of her lips.

Marinette's eyes fluttered open just as he reached them. "Adrian?"

"Good morning Mari. I need to get going. It's almost time for Nathalie to wake me up for school. I need to get back before she realises I'm missing."

Marinette covered a yawn. "I need to get up anyway so I can get meditation in with Maman before school. I'll bring some breakfast for you at school. I refuse to let your father starve you any further."

Adrian grinned at that. Placing a gentle kiss on her lips, he jumped up and called Plagg for his transformation. Marinette blinked in surprise as he stole another kiss from her before opening her balcony door and jumping through. "See you at school Princess."

Then he was gone in a blink. Marinette turned to scream into her pillow. She glared at Tikki who was laughing at her. Marinette dragged herself out of bed for meditation with her Maman before she got ready for school.

Deciding on a change from her usual outfit, Marinette dressed in a loose fitted, short-sleeved black top that had green paw print embroidery along the hem and sleeves. She paired it with a matching flowing green skirt that hit just below her knees. Black paw print embroidery ran along the hem of the skirt. Black ballet flats finished the look. It was an outfit she had designed and created in the last month after discovering who Chat was, but never had the courage to wear.

Releasing her hair from the plait Adrian had put it in the previous night, it fell in light waves around her face. Rather than tying it back into her usual pigtails, Marinette tied the sides back with a single green ribbon tied into a bow. Allowing the rest to flow loosely over her shoulders. The ribbon ended with a small silver bell on each end. The bells jingled as she moved.

Feeling pleased with her look, Marinette slung a matching green purse over her shoulder, opening it up for Tikki to enter it. "You look lovely Marinette. Adrian is going to love it."

"I hope so Tikki. Let's get some breakfast." Marinette said with a giggle before heading downstairs.

"You look beautiful, Sweetheart." Sabine commented as her daughter appeared in the kitchen.

"Thanks Maman. I decided I needed a change." Marinette giggled as she grabbed some breakfast and ate it at the counter. "I'm going to grab some breakfast food for Adrian, if that's OK Maman? His father is still starving him on that barely existent model diet."

"No problem, Sweetheart. I'll go pack a box for you. He could do with the extra calories. Bring him back for lunch if you can."

"I'll try. I'm not sure if he has a photo shoot today or not."

She kissed her parents cheeks on her way out, carefully carrying the box for Adrian that her mother had given her. Marinette was surprised to find Adrian already waiting for her outside the bakery door. Although it looks like she had surprised him more.

Adrian's jaw dropped when he saw Marinette's outfit. He could barely restrain himself from more than a hug and a gentle peck on her lips in greeting when what he really wanted to do was devour her.

"Morning Chatton. Rather eagar today, aren't you? Want some breakfast?" Marinette offered the box to him.

Taking her school bag from her shoulder, he placed it over his own. He then took the box she offered him and tucked it under one arm before grabbing her hand with the other.

"Thanks Princess. I'll have it once we get to school. I managed to get dropped off earlier and headed straight over. You look beautiful today."

Marinette blushed. "Thanks. I just felt like I needed a change. I made this a month ago but never had the courage to wear it."

"I wish you had. I might have paid attention much faster if you did."

Marinette snorted. "I somehow doubt that."

"What makes you say that?" Adrian asked curiously.

"The sheer number of times I tried to confess to you only to end up in utter failure." Marinette's tone was light but there was a tenseness to it.

"I'm sorry. I was a real oblivious idiot."

"Just a little." Marinette giggled looking up at him with her eyes twinkling. They had reached the school grounds.

Adrian stopped walking. He couldn't resist any longer. Letting go of her hand, he tangled it into her hair and pulled her head towards him. It was not a gentle kiss. It was fierce and overwhelming. He tried to convey all his love and frustration into it.

Marinette was a stuttering mess when he was finished to the cheers of the other teens around them.


	3. Chapter Three: What's Going On?!

Both Marinette and Adrian blushed when they realised they had an audience. Although, thankfully, none of them were their classmates.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, Adrian guided Marinette up the stairs into the school and towards their classroom. He kept his arm around her waist as they entered the classroom and up the stairs to the back of the class where Marinette had started sitting. Rather than sitting in the front as he usually did, Adrian had decided to sit in the back with her from now on.

They ignored the shocked stares from their classmates as Adrian sat down next to Marinette. He smiled at her as he opened the box of breakfast goodies, offering her one before picking up a croissant to eat for himself. Marinette covered a giggle with one hand as she watched him eating. She was glad he was enjoying his food.

"Maman said to come back to ours for lunch if you're not busy then." Marinette told him quietly.

"Mmm! Yes please! I don't have any photo shoots today and barring an akuma, your Maman's cooking is a lot better than anything my personal chief would make!"

Marinette sent a quick text to her mother confirming that Adrian would be joining her for lunch barring an akuma attack. Her mother's response had her showing Adrian the text with a grin. He laughed when he saw it.

No one spoke as they watched Adrian eating and chatting away to Marinette. Unlike the past mornings, they were all already seated in their seats. Only Chloe and Lila hadn't arrived yet.

Chloe arrived arrived a few minutes later. She was surprised to see Adrian in the back but when she considered the choice between Marinette and Lila for him, Marinette won hands down. She smiled up at them, to everyone else's shock. Adrian and Marinette waved back with a smile of their own, before Chloe sat down in her own seat.

It was Lila's entry into the room that really caused drama. She strutted in with a sweet smile. "Hey guys!"

Lila looked around in confusion when no one greeted her in return. Usually, everyone crowded around her as soon as she entered. It was strange that no one was doing it this morning.

Adrian wasn't sitting in his seat the front so she assumed he wasn't there yet. She didn't bother looking up for Marinette since she rarely ever got to school earlier than Lila.

Lila shrugged and sat next to Alya in the seat she claimed recently after Marinette had decided to move to the back. She gave Alya a grin. "Hey bestie. How was your day? I didn't see you back in class after the akuma attack yesterday. That was a bad attack. I got stuck after the akuma attacked me so I was late back to class myself."

Lila was even more confused when Alya's only response was "That's nice Lila."

"Um, is anything wrong Alya? Did Marinette say something to you about me? You know she was lying right?" Lila asked in fake syrupy concern.

"Why would Marinette have said something to me? She hasn't spoken to me in over a month." Alya responded in a dead tone.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I know you thought she was a great friend. But she told me yesterday in the bathroom that she was only pretending." Lila touched Alya's shoulder as if offering comfort.

"Oh, was she?" Was all that Alya said before Ms. Bustier entered the classroom and began the class. Alya felt sick inside at the now obvious lies that Lila was spilling. Looking around her at the others who had heard, Alya noticed that everyone else looked as sick as she felt.

Ms. Bustier was surprised to see Adrian seated next to Marinette as she started class. But seeing the box of goodies he was tucking into, she smiled and let him be. Marinette needed a friend and Adrian had been looking a little starved recently.

Looking at the rest of the class, the majority of the ones around Lila were looking a little green. She hoped there wasn't a bug going around again. They always disrupted classes.

Lila, herself was looking confused as if the day wasn't going as she expected. She put her hand up hesitantly. "Um, Ms. Bustier, shouldn't we wait for Adrian and Marinette? They're running a little late."

Ms. Bustier looked at Lila in surprise. "What do you mean Lila?"

"Oh, well, I'm sure Adrian is probably stuck at a photo shoot or something so I take take notes for him, but Marinette must of slept in again."

Lila looked confused when the entire class laughed at her. She wasn't sure what was going on.

"We're not late, Lila. Marinette and I got here before you." Adrian's amused voice came from the back.

Lila turned around in surprise. Sitting in the back row was Marinette and Adrian looking back at her in amusement. "Adrian, sweetie, shouldn't you be sitting down here in your seat?"

"Um, I'm perfectly happy sitting next to Marinette, thank you. Can you turn around now please? Ms. Bustier is waiting to continue class."

Lila turned around reluctantly. Her next surprise was Alya raising her hand. "Ms. Bustier, since Nino is alone in the front today, may I move next to him? Lila's purfume is giving me a wee headache."

Ms. Bustier looked surprised for a second but agreed. It only took a minute for Alya to move since Nino helped move her things next to him. Adrian winked at Nino when he looked up at Adrian briefly. Nino smiled in return.

Lila, confused at the smile on Nino's face, turned to where he was looking at Adrian. She noticed him eating pastries from a box next to him with the label of Marinette's parents bakery on it. "Oh, Adrian, you really shouldn't be eating that. It's not very nutritious. What would your father say?"

Adrian looked angry. "Who cares what my father says? I'm hungry and these are sooo good. Marinette's parents' bakery makes. The. Best. Food."

"Sooo true!" The rest of the class agreed, drooling as Adrian stuffed a piece of quiche in his mouth.

"I miss the food that Marinette used to bring in each morning for us to try." Alix added.

"I miss the croissants." Chloe spoke up.

That surprised everyone.

Ms. Bustier clapped her hands to get everyone's attention and tried to continue class again. It didn't take long for Lila to disturb the class again.

"Ms. Bustier, my arthritis is playing up again, could someone help me take notes? Maybe Adrian? He has the best handwriting and takes the most informative notes."

"I refuse" was all Adrian said.

Ms. Bustier was shocked. Adrian was generally more accommodating towards the girl but obviously something was going on today. Actually, none of the class seemed to be supporting Lila like they usually did. Did something happen?

"Is there anyone who is willing to take Lila's notes for her?" Ms. Bustier asked.

"Sure, Miss, if Lila can provide us with a medical certificate proving that she actually has arthritis in her wrist?" Alya asked looked back at Lila with her arms folded and an eyebrow raised.

Everyone looked at Lila for an answer while Ms. Bustier stared startled at Alya. The teacher suddenly realised that they had never been provided with the medical documentation for all of Lila's apparent illnesses and injuries.

"That's a good point, Alya. I should have had medical documentation for all of your needs by now Lila. We can hardly accommodate you properly without them."

"Oh... Um... It's OK. I'm sure I can muddle through my notes myself. I'll try to get the documentation to you by the end of the week, Miss. Mamma has them, I'm sure." Lila carefully formed a pained expression on her face that usually got her sympathy. Today, however, the class ignored it and turned back to Ms. Bustier.

Marinette was having the best day so far. Lila looked so confused at how everyone was treating her. Nothing seemed to be going the way it usually did for the lier. She jumped slightly when Adrian slipped his hand under the table to squeeze her knee. She blushed as he smiled back at her when she looked up at him before turning back to the teacher. He didn't remove his hand from her knee though.

The rest of class was quiet until it broke for lunch. Gathering their things, Adrian wrapped an arm around Marinette's waist and escorted her back down the stairs. He had taken her bag again to her amusement.

Lila wasn't happy to see them so close. She clutched at his arm that held the bags. "Oh, Adrian, your father invited me to join you for lunch. Shall we go?"

Adrian looked at her with disdain and shook his arm out of hers. "Please don't touch me again. It makes me uncomfortable when you cling to me like that without permission. Enjoy your lunch with Father. I have my own plans with Marinette."

"If I make you uncomfortable clinging to you, then why is she allowed to cling to you?" Lila asked angrily with her arms on her hips.

"Use your eyes, peasant. Marinette's not clinging to Adrian. Adrian's clinging to Marinette." Chloe snarked as she walked past them and out of class. Marinette blushed as the others laughed.

"I never knew you were so clingy, Dude." Nino grinned at him as he chucked an arm around Adrian's shoulders. Adrian just grinned back at him and pulled Marinette in closer to his side.

"But what about Kagami and Luka?" Lila tried again. "It's horrible of you to be cheating on them like this."

"I'm not dating Luka, Lila. I never was. We're just friends." Marinette looked at Lila confused.

"Even if my brother wanted to date Marinette, he'd never force her to do something she wasn't happy to do. He knew how Marinette felt about Adrian." Juleka added.

"And I talked to Kagami already. Yes we were trialing a relationship but we both agreed that it wasn't working. We're happier together as friends. So I'm free to pursue Marinette as I want." Adrian added kissing a strand of her hair when he finished talking. Marinette looked like she was going to combust when he did that to Adrian's amusement.

"Flirty kitty" was all she said looking away from him with her arms crossed as she was tucked into his side.

Adrian laughed. "Only with you, Princess. Only with you." Marinette snorted before laughing up at him.

Alya almost swooned then. None of the class had ever seen Adrian behave that way. He was always a polite gentleman in class and when they all hung out. Nor had they seen Marinette so relaxed in his presence. Alya snapped a quick photo of the couple looking at each other as if they were the only people in the room and quietly sent it to their phones.

The couple blushed when they checked their phones and saw the photo. "Thanks Alya" Marinette and Adrian said together.

"Anyway, Maman and Papa are waiting for us for lunch. We don't want to keep them waiting." Marinette added.

"Lead the way, Princess." Adrian smiled at her and they left the room. Everyone but Lila smiled after them.

Lila frowned and followed them out. She had no idea what was going on today. Finding a quiet corner, she pulled out her phone and dialled Nathalie's number. She needed to make a report.

MLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrian and Marinette enjoyed lunch at the bakery. Sabine had made a filling beef stew which they had with warm rolls fresh from the oven. It was the best meal Adrian had eaten in months. He even got to eat seconds.

Leaning back in his chair and patting his tummy once it was fill, Adrian moaned in happiness. "I can't remember the last time I felt so full. Can I live here, please?" He was only partially joking.

Marinette blushed as her mother and father laughed. "You're welcome to join us for a meal any time you like." Sabine answered him.

"You might never get rid of me with an offer like that." Adrian quipped with a grin.

"Silly kitty. I told you, you were always welcome." Marinette giggled from beside him.

Adrian raised her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. "You're the best, Princess. So is your family."

Marinette's parents laughed at they cleared away the dishes and took them into the kitchen for washing.

Adrian's phone rang then. Looking at it, he saw Nathalie's number on the screen. He sighed and pressed the hang up button.

"Looks like Lila told on me. Just like you thought, Mari."

"Sorry Adrian. What will you do?"

"Listen to the lecture I'm expecting to get when I get home. They will probably deny me dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow to compensate for breaking diet."

"If it gets really bad, come here. I'll keep a plate of dinner for you and breakfast too."

"Thanks Marinette." Adrian whispered, pulling her into a hug.

They headed back to school then.

MLBMLBMLBMLB

Most of the class were waiting for them when they got back. Lila was the only exception. They crowded around the couple as they entered the room.

"Marinette... We all owe you an apology. We're really sorry we didn't listen to you about Lila being a lier." Alya started them off.

"Yeah, sorry Dudette, we should have trusted you. We knew you better. I'm not sure how we believed such outrageous lies to begin with." Nino followed. Soon the rest of the class had added their apologies.

Marinette smiled at them in the sweet way that she always had. "It's OK. I forgive you all. I know you didn't mean for this to happen. But please don't be upset if it takes me a little time to learn to trust you all again? It really hurt having my friends turn their backs on me like that."

Alya was the first to glomp Marinette. Marinette was just glad of Adrian's arm around her keeping the small girl steady. Soon everyone else joined in on the hug.

Finally, they all headed to their seats. Rather than moving to the back like they had that morning. The class persuaded Adrian and Marinette to sit in the second row where Marinette and Alya used to sit. Nino and Alya sat in the front row again.

Lila was really confused when she entered the room after lunch Marinette was back in her old seat although it was Adrian sitting beside her. Alya and Nino were in the front row again facing them. The four of them were chatting away happily. The rest of the class were all talking excitedly. It was a very different class to the one she had been entering for the last month.

She headed up to Adrian and touched his shoulder to get his attention. "Adrian, sweetie, your father is really upset that you didn't join us for lunch. Especially since you broke your meal plan."

Adrian shook her hand of his shoulder. "Again, why should I care what that man thinks? That meal plan is barely keeping me alive. He should be arrested for abuse and negligence."

"I didn't realise you were such a stalker, Lila." Marinette said sweetly. "I think you might need to get a restraining order on herher, Adrian."

"Hmmm, I think you might be right, Princess." Adrian wrapped an arm around Marinette and pulled her close enough that she was almost in his lap. "Talk about an invasion of privacy. Not to mention reporting my activities to my father. That's just wrong."

"Wow, Lila, obsessive much?" Alya added. The others laughed.

"Um, Marinette, you're sitting in my seat?" Lila tried again.

"Actually Lila, that was Marinette's seat first." Rose spoke up from across the room.

"Yeah, your seat is in the back." Mylene added.

"Though, could you please sit on the other side of the room? I don't want to get a headache from your purfume like Alya did this morning." Nathaniel spoke quietly.

Lila flushed furiously before heading to the back in the seat Marinette had occupied that morning.

Marinette spared a glance back at the angry girl and whispered a request to Tikki to keep an eye out for possible akumas. Tikki and Plagg, who had snuck into Marinette's bag, nodded before heading discreetly along the floor and through the wall to keep an eye out for akumas targeting Lila.

MLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrian kept his arm around Marinette when class started. Although he did reluctantly let her back into her seat with a pout when faced with Ms. Bustier's amused but firm look combined with Marinette's unamused blushing glare. She was glad to see the both students were concentrating on their work regardless of their new relationship.

Somehow, Ms Bustier wasn't surprised to see Marinette back in her old seat, with Adrian beside her and Lila in the back row. The whole class had been a little weird all day with Alya raising some very good points about Lila's history.

Ms. Bustier had spent her lunch time confirming with the school nurse and the school office about Lila's medical records and absentee history. A phone call her Lila's mother had raised some interesting questions that Ms. Bustier had brought to Mr. Damocles' attention.

A very upset Mrs. Rossi was currently ensourced in Mr. Damocles' office sorting out fact from fiction regarding Lila. Ms. Bustier had come from there having heard a great amount of interesting things. Such as the school being closed for months due to an akuma attack.

Mrs. Rossi on the other hand, was highly shocked to learn that school hadn't been closed at any time and that Lila had claimed to have been travelling around the world. She had also been surprised to hear the number of interesting illnesses and injuries and surgeries that Lila apparently had. Mr. Damocles and Mrs. Rossi were now in discussions about how to proceed with punishment for Lila on both sides.

Ms. Bustier had also been interested in the latest blog post on the Ladyblog, that Alya had posted during the lunch break, which held an apology to her viewers for not fact checking her sources along with some very interesting proof of the lies that had been posted on her blog in recent months featuring Lila. She was rather proud of Alya's research and reporting of the situation but she did wonder what set the whole situation off.

Why did they start fact checking Lila? Especially since only the day before Marinette was the one being held in contempt by the class. What had changed?

Ms. Bustier was only glad that Lila was no longer attempting to interrupt the class for the moment. She wasn't exactly sure she could hold back from snapping at the girl in an unkind tone.

When she looked back at all the times Marinette had called Lila out on her lies only to get accused of jealousy and obsession in return, it made Ms. Bustier cringe internally. It was a wonder that Marinette hadn't been akumatised more than the once. Actually, Ms. Bustier couldn't even deny how much she needed to apologise to Marinette for not listening to her on that day. Even Chloe had only ever brought Marinette to that point once.

MLBMLBMLBMLB

A knock at the door brought Ms. Bustier out of her internal musing. Mr. Damocles and Mrs. Rossi stood outside.

"I'm sorry Ms. Bustier. Could Miss. Rossi please pack her things? Her mother will be removing her from school as of this moment." Mr. Damocles asked in his usual loud nervous voice.

"Mamma? Is there a problem?" Lila asked in her sweet sickening voice.

"You have been expelled, Lila. You need to pack your things. When we get home, you will be packing only your necessities and boarding the flight back to your Nonna's. Your father is waiting to take you. I want you out of Paris as fast as possible."

"Mamma? I don't understand? What's going on? Why have I been expelled?" Lila was panicking now.

"Not only have you lied to your classmates, you lied to me. Not to mention all the times you have apparently been akumatised and terrorised your school. You are grounded and going to Nonna's for strict discipline since you can't be trusted anymore."

"Nooo! Mamma! Don't send me away!"

Lila was crying real tears as she tripped half way down the stairs towards her mother. Not one classmate helped her pick up her things. Well,that's not quite true. One person did.

Marinette, quietly left her seat and picked up the things that had fallen near her. Carefully she gave them back to Lila, who as still sitting on the stairs crying, and helped her stand up.

"I'm sorry things have come to this, Lila. If you had only told the truth from the beginning then things would have been very different. We would have all welcomed you with open arms. There was no need for the lies."

Marinette was quiet as she spoke. She spoke for Lila's ears only. Those who sat near where the girls stood had to strain to hear her. Even Adrian with his enhanced hearing had to strain just slightly. He was proud of her. Even now, despite having been bullied by Lila for months, Marinette was still kind to her in her darkest moments. She really was Ladybug inside and out.

An embarrassed Lila followed her mother and Mr. Damocles out the classroom door and Marinette returned to her seat. Ms. Bustier continued lesson's with her subdued class for the rest of the day.


End file.
